I got slammed in a comment on OnlineDomain.com…and I actually agree with the guy

I was reading one of my favorite domain blogs this morning – OnlineDomain.com (Konstantinos rocks, sharp guy, solid writer) and noticed my name mentioned in the comments, and yes, I got slammed. As I read the comment though I realized, the guy was actually right and brings up a good point. Here’s his comment:

While I definitely have better domains than besthikersnetwork.net (which I’m pretty sure I don’t own, do I?) I do agree that I’m not an expert. Domains that I own are names like Friending.com, ClosetDesign.com, etc. not three-word .NET names. But when I look at the domain name world I look at experts as people like Mike Mann, Michael Berkens, Frank Schilling, people making millions of dollars in the domain industry.

I’ve been using domains as my investment strategy rather than investing in the stock market or real estate, but I’ve never been a full-time Domainer and I probably never will be. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish, last year I made close to $200,000 in the domain world…but that’s $800,000 shy of $1M which is probably the mark you have to be at to call yourself an expert. In my time in the domain world I have bought, sold and brokered north of $5M in domains but I can tell you the experts have done tens of millions of dollars and been in this space a lot longer than me.

All this being said, I’m not talking about domain names at NamesCon, I’m at an “Expert Table” with the topic “Entrepreneurial Strategy: Tips for launching your startup” which is a topic I’m comfortable talking about since I’ve been running a venture-backed startup for the last four years. That being said, I wouldn’t say I’m an “Expert” when it comes to startups either. This is my first startup and I’m still learning every day and am thankful to have some great investors and advisors helping accelerate my knowledge.

The whole “Expert” term is probably thrown around a lot more than it should. I’m 35 years-old, I’ve been buying and selling domain names for nine years, running a startup full time for the last four years, neither of those things would I call myself an expert in. I am looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned about launching a startup over the last four years at NamesCon but I do agree with Brandon on this one, I’m definitely no expert and we should be careful who we label as experts because the term is definitely thrown around way too much…